Greek military

Greek military analysts believe Turkey is raising tensions in the Aegean Sea because it found itself cornered on the Syrian front. According to their analysis, Turkey is becoming more aggressive against Greece, as its ambitions in Syria have been railed back after the US and Russia have abandoned Erdogan in the east.

Ties between Ankara and Athens remained strained over the weekend, with Greece's armed forces under instructions to remain alert but calm, following an escalating war of words over sovereignty in the Aegean and an unprecedented spike in Turkish provocations.

Ties between Ankara and Athens remained strained over the weekend, with Greece's armed forces under instructions to remain alert but calm, following an escalating war of words over sovereignty in the Aegean and an unprecedented spike in Turkish provocations.

Seven army recruits in the Greek military were sentenced to 60 days in prison, after they had formed a pro-Albanian nationalistic symbol and posted a photo on social media.

The Greek military was on high alert on Sunday after a Turkish gunboat carrying Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar sailed into Greek waters and around the Imia islets at around 10.30 a.m.

The Turkish gunboat was escorted by several assault craft carrying commandos, which also circled the islets that brought Greece and Turkey to the brink of war 21 years ago, almost to the day.

Brussels and Athens are trying to decipher the reasons behind Turkey’s intensification of polemic rhetoric against, following a string of statements by the Turkish political establishment led by President Recep Erdogan.

Defense Minister Panos Kammenos on Thursday sought to send a stern message to Turkey and other countries questioning Greece's territorial integrity, declaring during a visit to military outpost near the Albanian border that Greece "will not accept such provocations" and saying he would stay the night at the outpost to underline the "fortified presence" of the Greek military.

The Greek military says that two helicopters and one fighter jet violated international aviation rules, entering the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) in the southeastern Aegean on Friday.

They were not armed and authorities said they were intercepted and chased away. There were no dogfights.

An active mine dating back to World War II was found by a tourist off the coast of the Aegean island of Skopelos, local authorities announced on Saturday.

A Thessaloniki prosecutor has indicted seven people, including a senior army officer, to stand trial on charges of stealing fuel from a pipeline used by the Greek military and selling it for a profit.

The members of the alleged racket are believed to have stolen nearly 294,762 liters of fuel worth some 300,000 euros.